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Why I’m loving (and acting) my age this week

— by Alyson Walsh

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Verde Visconti: Italian aristo and PR

‘“Ageless” is a key word that identifies the women of today,’ says Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani, ‘Together they compose the mosaic of the new femininity, a way of being beyond appearances. Women who are strong, sure of themselves, talented, enterprising. On their faces, the glow of youth is replaced by the splendour of maturity, in terms of age of course but also character.’

I love the idea of the ‘splendour of maturity,’ and as I’m away for a few days with practically my entire family, I’m trying to embrace the phenomenon (instead of reverting to petulant teenager). Fortunately, I finally got my hands on a copy of Italian Vogue’s ‘Life’ issue, featuring women of all ages, beautifully put together by Sozzani & Co. Ageless style issues usually include one picture of an older model tucked away somewhere towards the back of the magazine, but this is different. There are pages and pages of inspirational women:

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China Machado photo: Bruce Weber

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Alba Clemente & Marleine Bastien by Bruce Weber

‘There is beauty in every age, every face, every life,’ Sozzani blogged in a #LoveYourAge post, ‘Ageless is the theme portrayed through shoots by Steven Meisel, Michel Comte and Bruce Weber who photographed women of every age, with a unique charm thanks to their wrinkles, their life experiences and personality.’

Erm, call me devil’s advocate but – even though I know from my own experience on magazines that you do tend to stick to favourite teams of professionals for photoshoots – I still think a female photographer with wrinkles and experience would’ve been a good move…

Anyhow. As I mentioned, I’m away for a few days and need to stop sneaking off to my bedroom for an anti-social media fix, embrace the splendour of maturity and spend some time with my family. So, I’m taking a blogging break for a week. It’s not a total digital detox; The Telegraph has just named me as one of  the ‘ Coolest over-50s on Instagram‘ and I’m dead chuffed about that. Follow my grownup moodboard HERE.

 

Love Your Age,

Alyson

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